chapter 2

Part 1

It’d be a bit of a pain to find my way back after having a few drinks, so I ended up spending the night at Succubus Lingerie.

Then, next morning.

What awaited me as I made my way back to Megumin’s house was-

Source @ CGtranslations.me

“Sorry, I’ve come to pick up our two idiots.”

For some reason, I’ve come to the guardroom of the Crimson Demon Defense Corps.

“Oh, it’s good that you’re here. Hurry up and take the two of them away.”

The leader of the Defense Corps, Bukkoroli the NEET, I believe, seemed quite exhausted.

I turned towards the two of them who were locked up in the cell and said.

“… I’m really reluctant to do so, but I’m here to pick you up.”

“Where did you disappear off to last night, Kazuma? If you were here, we would’ve been able to avoid the Defense Corps with Enemy Detection and Lurk.”

Beside Megumin who said such rebellious words was…

“… You know, I really expected you to stop her.”

“I have nothing to say…”

Darkness, blushing bright red all the way to her ears, buried her face between her knees.

Source @ CGtranslations.me

Apparently, these two went off to complete Megumin’s daily routine after I went to the pub.

“This will happen every day as long as I stay here, you know? So it’s best if everyone would just get used to it.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.”

Bukkoroli seemed utterly confused by Megumin’s words.

“Well, this girl claims that she’ll die if she doesn’t cast Explosion every day. The town of Axel is now treating it like a natural occurrence of sorts.”

“I really don’t get what you’re talking about at all.”

A problem child that stumps even the Crimson Demons who seemed like they wouldn’t be perturbed by anything.

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll try to finish it as early as possible from today onwards, so please inform the other villagers so that they won’t be surprised.”

… …

“Say, I don’t suppose you could keep her here until we’re done with the trial? I can even pay you a fee if you want.”

“Please don’t, the Defense Corps isn’t a daycare for problem children. Please properly do your job as a guardian…”

“Hey, would you please stop treating a tender young girl as a troublemaker!?”

The troublemaker shouted from within the cell.

Next to her, an embarrassed Darkness tried to make herself look as small as possible-

Source @ CGtranslations.me

“- It doesn’t seem like we can take the Chieftain’s trial just yet. The grounds for the first trial have yet to be fully repaired…”

After retrieving Darkness and Megumin, we met up with Aqua who went to fetch Yunyun, and she apologetically informed me.

“What do you mean the trial grounds aren’t prepared yet? I’ve only been away for a short while, but it seems like the villagers have really let themselves go since then.”

Megumin sighed as though it had nothing to do with her.

“You were the one who destroyed the grounds in the first place! Actually, if Megumin could go somewhere else to play while the trial is going on…”

“Hey, why don’t you tell me exactly why are you treating me like an outcast!?”

Faced with Megumin’s sudden angry outburst, Yunyun frantically waved her hands.

“N-No, I’m not treating you like an outcast… It’s just, considering your personality, there’s no way you’ll behave yourself during the trial… and if there’s a place to show off at the end of the trial, there’s no way you can restrain yourself, right?”

“Yeah, makes sense.” x3

“Don’t just agree with her! Do you guys think I’m some sort of feral beast or something!?”

“Did you just forget where you were five minutes ago? Most people never see the insides of a jail cell.”

Megumin hastily averted her gaze.

“Still, that doesn’t leave us with much to do. We already walked around the Crimson Demon Village the last time we were here, so what should we do now?”

According to Yunyun, they should be able to retake the trial tomorrow.

I guess we could go back to Axel until then…

Just as everyone was deep in thought-

“I want to plant this girl in the forest.”

Aqua had a longing in her voice as she hugged the pot that now housed the Tranquility Girl.

Come to think of it, we did want to do that, didn’t we?

“Umm… As a Crimson Demon myself, it’s a little troubling if you plant it close to the village… If possible, I think it’s best to exterminate it…”

Yunyun started, but Aqua pushed the Tranquility Girl close to her face and said,

“Can you really kill a girl this young!? Was Yunyun always such a cold-hearted person!? Come on, look her in the eye and say that again!!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s impossible, forgive me!”

Source @ CGtranslations.me

Part 2

“Let’s put her on that hill overlooking the village. She won’t get lonely that way…”

“Aqua-san, that’s the Hill of the Demon God. It’s a popular spot for couples, so we can’t put her there. How about placing her deeper in the forest?”

Together with Aqua who was looking for a place to plant the Tranquillity Girl, we toured around the Crimson Demon Village.

“This is starting to be a chore. Why don’t we just plant her in Yunyun’s backyard? The people who live here won’t fall for the Tranquility girl’s tricks, so why don’t we just turn her into a new tourist attraction and be done with it?”

“As expected of Kazuma. She won’t be lonely like this, and Yunyun will end up making a friend too. It really is perfect.”

“I think it’s perfect too. I’ll properly treasure her.”

“What kind of stupid things are you saying!? Yunyun too, don’t agree so readily! Making friends with monsters is the one line you shouldn’t cross!”

They were just one step away from falling for it, but Megumin hastily interjected.

“Say, Megumin, I thought of something that I’d do once I become the chief.”

“W-Where did this come from…? What do you have in mind?”

Towards the hesitant Megumin, Yunyun somewhat bashfully said,

“I’ve been thinking about this for some time. Is it possible to capture monsters that have high intelligence and are capable of communicating to create a monster ranch in the village…”

“Isn’t that the same as what Kazuma was thinking!? Are you planning on turning them into experience points once they are grown up!?”

Megumin grabbed onto Yunyun’s chest and started shaking her, but Yunyun hastily denied.

“T-That isn’t it! If they are provided with food, clothing and shelter, I’m sure the intelligent monsters will have a change of heart! This is the first step in finding a path of coexistence between mankind and monsters…!”

“What do you mean by coexistence!? What a barefaced lie! Do you want friends so badly that you’ll even turn monsters into NEETs!?”

“Of course I do! Isn’t that obvious!?”

Yunyun finally admitted it.

Ignoring the two of them who started fighting, I racked my brains over what to do with the Tranquility Girl.

“You know, I really don’t think there’s any option other than to put her in the forest far away from the village…”

“But she’d be lonely if we do that. Come to think of it, do Tranquility Girls have a gathering ground or something of the sort? She wouldn’t be lonely if we plant her next to others of her kind.”

“If such wicked creatures do have a gathering spot, I would burn it all to the ground.”

“Kazuma, you fiend! You’ll scare this girl, so go away!”

Watching Aqua try and forcefully shove me away, the Tranquility Girl stretched her tiny hands at us and laughed-

-Outside the gates of the Crimson Demon Village lies a large mountain range and vast forest.

We were deep inside that forest right now…

“Waaaah! Yunyun! Yunyun!”

“Light of Saber!”

The One Strike Bear that was attacking Aqua was instantly taken care of by Yunyun.

“Snipe! Snipe! Snipe! Ahh, Yunyun! Yunyun! Save me!”

“Lightning Strike!”

The giant tree-like monsters that surrounded us were turned to charcoal upon being hit by Yunyun’s lightning.

“Oh! Those are the famous Paralyze Slimes! It’s a dangerous monster that paralyzes its prey before taking its time to digest it with its acidic body! Ordinary people would be dissolved along with their equipment, but if I were to be caught, my clothes and armor would go first! But don’t worry, Kazuma, I won’t give in to such humiliation…”

“Inferno!”

The horde of slimes that were slowly approaching Darkness were swept away in a sea of flames.

“… Yunyun, can I have a word?”

Ignoring Aqua who was putting out the smouldering flames and Darkness who was cradling the remains of the slimes while crying, Megumin, who was at the rear of our party, started.

“What’s wrong, Megumin? I’m busy looking out for monsters with my Search spell right now… Ah, there are some monsters lurking around a short distance away from us. Leave it to me, I’ll wipe them all out in an instant.”

“You don’t need to! Actually, what’s with you today? You’re being unusually aggressive.”

We’ve received a warm welcome from the monsters living around the Crimson Demon Village ever since we entered the forest, but there were easily taken care off thanks to Yunyun.

“Do you really think so…? I mean, thinning out the monsters who are living around the village is also one of the duties of the chief, right? Plus I still have plenty of mana to spare, and I’ve brought plenty of manatite in case I run out…”

“You’re way too into this! Which country are you planning on going to war with by bring so many high quality manatite with you!? We’re a party, so there’s no need for you to charge on ahead!”

Megumin waved her staff and lectured Yunyun who brought out several stones from her pocket.

But Yunyun simply broke out into a huge smile…

“Party… Hehe, Ehehe…”

“Stop doing that, it’s creepy! Why are you smiling when someone is lecturing you!? It’s rude!”

Seems like being accepted into a proper party for once has made Yunyun really motivated for this.

“Isn’t it fine? We should be thankful to Yunyun for taking all of them out. There’s no danger to us, and it’s smooth sailing, so there’s nothing to lecture her about.”

“Slime… Slime… Paralyze Slime…”

Let’s just ignore the one who’s mumbling something with a sorrowful expression.

“There absolutely is! If Yunyun hogs the spotlight, there won’t be any chance for me to shine! I’m going to find strong monsters around here to use my Explosion on!”

“What did you come home to do!? We aren’t here to adventure or raise your levels, you know!?”

Perhaps realizing that the safest place to be is by her side, Aqua stuck extremely close to Yunyun as she interjected.

“Say, Kazuma, Megumin is being really troublesome, so let’s just let her shoot her Explosion off somewhere and carry her the rest of the way.”

“Yeah, she’d be less likely to do something unnecessary if she were to transform into luggage, so let’s do that.”

“I didn’t expect Aqua to say that! I won’t fire it off here! I came back home after all this time, so I am definitely not going to blow it on some small fry!”

Just when I sighed while thinking of how to lecture Megumin who was saying such selfish things-

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

“EXPLOSION!”

The Explosion spell that Megumin casted without chanting snaked its way past the trees in an exquisite demonstration of control and exploded deep in the forest.

“What are you doing!?”

Yunyun screamed as the blastwave sent her flying along with battering down the trees around us.

Part 3

“Hey, I heard a really loud noise coming from the forest…”

Bukkoroli, standing at the entrance of the village, asked us as we returned.

“Megumin’s brain fried itself.”

“Wait, please, I know it’s my fault for letting loose without warning, but as I’ve said before, there’s a proper reason for that!”

Megumin hastily started making excuses in response to Aqua’s words.

“Yeah, yeah, sure you had a reason. Did you get too irritated? Or were you surprised after seeing a giant bug?”

“This man!”

And started strangling me from behind as I was piggybacking her.

“You just want us to listen to your excuses, right!? Stop stalling and tell us already!”

“Ugh… But you guys definitely won’t believe me….”

Megumin started mumbling as Yunyun put on the pressure.

“I know that you won’t say anything irresponsible. Don’t worry, even if the others won’t believe you, I’ll properly hear you out.”

“Darkness…”

Ignoring the two who were re-enacting a really touching scene right now, Bukkoroli once again asked.

“So, what exactly happened?”

Megumin assumed a serious expression and started…

“The Bomber Majin Moguninnin appeared.”

“If you are going to say such stupid things, I’ll throw you off!”

I moved to lower Megumin from my back, and she clung onto me even tighter to prevent me from doing so.

“That why I didn’t want to say it! I knew none of you will believe it! Darkness, please lecture this man!”

“Er… umm… Well, I’m not that familiar with monsters… So Moganinin was about to attack us. As expected of Megumin, you did a great job.”

“You didn’t even remember the name right, and your voice is completely monotone! Darkness, I thought I could trust you!”

Bukkoroli let out a sigh.

“Claiming that Moguninnin appeared of all things… couldn’t you have found a better excuse?”

“Leaving other monsters aside, there’s no way I of all people could mistake any monsters that are related to Explosion! Moguninnin was staring at Kazuma from the depths of the forest! It’s that Bomber Majin we are talking about, so I doubt that my chantless Explosion could’ve destroyed it.”

Judging from the unusually serious atmosphere that the Crimson Demons had about them, I’m starting to get the feeling that this whole thing isn’t just a joke.

“Just what is a Bomber Majin? You didn’t come up with it just to mess with us, did you?”

Megumin shook her head.

“Bomber Majin Moguninnin. It’s a mysterious monster that used to lie in a certain Mysterious Facility within the Crimson Demon Village. It is well versed in Detonation magic and can talk in a halting imitation of human speech, but no one can understand what it’s saying. It’ll attack anyone it sees apart from Crimson Demons, and will unleash Detonations without rhyme or reason at night.”

“That sounds like it has a really problematic personality. So, you’re saying that mysterious monster that sounds like it could be one of your cousins had its eye on me?”

Detonation Magic is a weaker version of Explosion Magic.

If a monster that can use that is coming after me…

Just then, Bukkoroli said,

“The Bomber Majin Moguninnin doesn’t usually come out from the depths of the forest, though…”

“You didn’t come up with that just so you’d have an excuse to let off your Explosion every day during your stay here, did you!?”

“How could you say that!? Do you really think I’ll come up with such a ridiculous story just because I wanted to let loose with my Explosion!?”

Hearing Megumin say such things without even a shred a credibility, Bukkoroli shrugged.

“Megumin was always saying strange things. Stuff like seeing a mysterious glowing object fly off towards the east, or that she was a God of Destruction in her previous life, or that a mage who uses Explosion will end up with big breasts…”

“You don’t believe a word of what I’ve said, do you!? You sure are bold for a NEET!”

“S-Shut up, me being a NEET has nothing to do with this! Anyway, stop using your Explosion magic in the forest. It’ll get really troublesome when you rile up all the monsters like that. At least behave yourself while the Chief’s trial is going on.”

After saying that, Bukkoroli left us and went off on his way.

“-Bomber Majin Moguninnin really was there. Kazuma, you mustn’t leave the village. Moguninnin has it in for all non-Crimson Demon men, particularly those with black hair and eyes.”

“Why does it have a grudge against such a particular target? In the first place, it doesn’t come out from the depths of the forest, right? Are you sure you didn’t misidentify a giant rhinoceros beetle or something?”

“There’s no way I could’ve mistaken a beetle for the Bomber Majin! Anyway, Kazuma, don’t participate as a partner in the Crimson Demon Trial. I’ve also been asked not to participate, so just leave it to Darkness or Aqua to be Yunyun’s partner.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Wait a minute, that’ll be a problem for me! Ah, no, I don’t mean I don’t want to partner with you two or anything!”

Darkness gently smiled at the panicking Yunyun.

“The duty of a Crusader is to protect others. Don’t worry, just leave it to me. I’ll definitely protect you.”

“D-Darkness-san…”

“There’s nothing you need to worry about with me here. Even if you get killed by a powerful monster, I’ll bring you right back with Resurrection.”

“Aqua-sa… No, I’d prefer it if we didn’t have to use Resurrection in the first place…”

Yunyun’s expression seems to be stuck between being touched and something else.

“Eh-… Trials and partners and all that gives it a proper fantasy feel for once, so I really want to give it my all…”

“Just watch the house with me, Kazuma. I’ll guide you around the village. There’s a pub that the parents of a classmate of mine runs.”

“Can we not go there? There’s a troublesome person staying over there.”

And thus, despite coming over to the Crimson Demon Village, I ended up being a NEET.

“Say, we didn’t manage to find a place to plant this girl…”

“Ah.” x4

Part 4

That night.

“So, yeah, I really don’t have much to do tomorrow, so is there anything I could do to help out?”

I offered to help Megumin’s mother after coming home.

I’m not at all like the thick-skinned goddess who appropriated the warmest spot in the house and took an afternoon nap like she owned the place.

Since she’s letting me stay over, this is the least I can do to repay her.

“Oh, my, you’re offering to help? I’m going to gather materials for creating magic items from the deepest dungeon in this country tomorrow…”

“Sorry, is there something easier, like laundry or dishes that you could use some help with instead?”

Seems like it’s a little to early for me to be helping with their work.

“In that case, I’m a little concerned about Moguninnin, so would you like to explore that Mysterious Facility tomorrow?”

“Are you still stuck on that strangely named monster?”

Yunyun will undertake the Chieftain’s trial from tomorrow onwards, and her partner for the first trial will be Darkness.

“I wanna go too! The name ‘Mysterious Facility’ makes it sound like there’d be a ton of treasures hidden within it!”

Aqua, who was happily helping herself to a drink, cheerfully said.

“I’ve heard that it’s been explored many times in the past, so there probably wouldn’t be much left.”

A mysterious facility whose reason for existence is unknown to even the Crimson Demons.

I’ve heard that it’s been turned into a tourist attraction…

“Come on, isn’t it fine to act like proper adventurers and go exploring every once in a while? Plus, with Kazuma’s luck, we might end up finding something good.”

“… Why must you choose precisely the times when I’m not around to act like proper adventurers…”

Darkness muttered to herself, regret slightly creeping into her voice.

“Right, let’s turn in early in preparation for tomorrow. Don’t get too drunk now, Aqua. Now, then, I’ll go on ahead…”

Saying that, Megumin stood up and made her way back to her room-

“Yes, I suppose it’d be best to turn in early. Sorry, Kazuma-san, we don’t have much in the way of entertainment in my house… Though, playing around with my daughter in the same room should be pretty entertaining, heheheh.”

Megumin’s face cringed at Yuiyui’s words.

“What is this parent of mine saying!? Just what are you asking your daughter to do!?”

Yuiyui seemed unperturbed by Megumin’s sudden outburst.

“When we talk about entertainment out in the countryside like this, there’s only one thing I could be referring to. Hurry up and let me see the face of my grandchild.”

“Please stop making lewd jokes in front of your daughter! Kazuma, you say something too!”

“Well, from a physical standpoint, I think it’s a little too early for your daughter to be giving birth. Maybe after she grows up a little more…”

“I’m already grown up enough to bear a child! No, wait, that’s not- Ah, what should I…”

I calmly admonished Megumin as she started making a fuss.

“It’s already night out, so do try and keep it down. Also, you really should choose your words better. It’d be really embarrassing if the neighbours hear you say that you can bear a child and what not.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you! Just whose fault do you think it is in the first place!?”

“By the way, physically speaking, I think my body is ready to bear a child at any time.”

“What kind of stupid things are you saying now, Darkness!? Don’t butt in and go to sleep already!”

“Sleep.”

Megumin collapsed to the ground in response to Yuiyui’s incantation.

The person who put her daughter to sleep without any reservations smiled brightly at me.

“Now, now, whatever happens next is completely up to you! The nights are long around this time of year, so go ahead and do as you please!”

“I’m sorry, even for me, laying hands upon a sleeping girl’s body is a little…”

As I was trying to gently turn down Yuiyui who was pushing her daughter to me, Darkness suddenly stood up.

“Such stuff should be done with the consent of both parties! I definitely cannot accept them crossing the line like this! Even if you are her mother-”

“Sleep.”

Yuiyui cast her spell on Darkness without even looking at her.

“… Even if you are her mother, I can’t overlook that! The duty of a Crusader is to protect others. I’ll protect Megumin’s chastity!”

Darkness has strong willpower, high magic resistance and is resistant to bad status effects.

“Y-You managed to resist it!? My sleep is supposed to be fairly powerful…”

Yuiyui seemed quite surprised that Darkness managed to resist her spell.

“Tch…! Seems like you’ve leveled up quite a bit since the last time you were here!”

“Hmph, do you really think the same trick would work on a member of the Dustiness house twice!? Is Sleep the only spell you can cast!? Go ahead and render me helpless if you can!”

After saying such impressive lines, Darkness squared up against Yuiyui…!

“Then how about this? Paralyze!”

“Weak! The Paralyze Slimes I saw in the forest today could put out a better numbing attack!”

Behind the triumphant Darkness, Aqua was lying dead drunk on the floor.

Ignoring all three of them, I carried the sleeping Megumin to her room–

Part 5

A ray of moonlight shone through the window.

It fell upon Megumin’s gentle sleeping face, illuminating her in the darkness.

Of course, as a gentleman, I wouldn’t lay a hand on her.

Using my own arm as a pillow, I laid down next to her and watched over her peaceful sleeping face.

“… Mmm…. Behold my power… Release the forbidden seal… lay waste to all creation…”

Mumbling something that’s in no way peaceful at all, Megumin rolled over in her bed.

Perhaps noticing something off with me sleeping next to her, she slowly opened her eyes-

“… Sorry, can I ask what are you doing?”

“I was watching the sleeping face of the person I love.”

Megumin jumped off the bed.

“What do you mean person you love!? Why are you naked from the waist up!?”

“Well, when you wake up next to a half naked person of the opposite gender, you would normally think that something happened, right?”

After distancing herself from me, Megumin hastily patted her body down to check for anything off.

“Of course! Isn’t this a really big deal!? Ah, wait, my bra is missing!?”

“I thought you might have trouble sleeping if you had something constricting your chest. Also, I heard that you’ll grow bigger breasts if you sleep without a bra.”

I pointed over by the bedside, and Megumin grasped the bra placed over there tightly in her hand.

“I don’t need your concern over such matters! You don’t usually pay much heed to me, so why are you so concerned only at such times!? Even if it’s you, removing my bra while I’m sleeping…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I properly removed it with Steal like a gentleman.”

“Oh, how considerate of you! That goofy smile of yours is really infuriating! What would you have done if you accidentally took my panties instead!?”

Covering her body with her robe, she looked a little like a teruterubozu as she squirmed around underneath it.

“Kazuma, Aqua, did you hear that? That mysterious voice is a warning. One must acquire and equip a Gustproof Workwear before carrying on. A violent gust blows at you if you enter the small room at the end. Right now it’s just air, but it must have sprayed a deadly acid in the past to prevent anyone without the proper equipment from entering…”

“It’s probably just an air shower to prevent dust from being brought into the clean room.”

“Kazuma-san, Kazuma-san, Megumin is really cute right now. She’ll definitely provide a really cute reaction if a TV was here.”

Probably trying to protect us, Megumin blocked the air nozzles before allowing us to step into the entrance into the clean room.

Inside the clean room was a conveyor belt, and right next to it was a giant machine…

“That’s a fearsome trap that has resulted in a lot of casualties. A vile trap that devours anything that steps on that platform. It’s currently disabled now, but don’t let your guard down.”

“It looks to be some kind of assembly line. Did it break down?”

“The sign on the side says ‘Game Girl production line’.”

Megumin gasped.

“You’re saying that this thing uses what it has consumed to create something… Could that thing be us Crimson Demons…. Kazuma, I think I’ve just stumbled upon a truth that should never have been revealed…”

“This thing probably creates a toy.”

“The toy we found in that underground bunker, right?”

In response to our instant rebuttal, Megumin sadly looked at us.

“You two don’t need to be that considerate. The Crimson Demons are a man-made race that goes against the laws of the gods… I’m sure my ancestors were created right here…”

“In the name of Aqua-san, I’ll forgive the existence of the joke tribe. After all, the Crimson Demons are really amusing.”

“Please don’t call us that!”

Just then, I noticed a small machine at the back of the facility.

“Hey, Aqua, that’s a gachapon! There’s a gachapon here!”

“Oh, there really is. It’s empty, but that really is a gachapon.”

“Do the two of you know what that box is?”

“This is a gachapon machine. It spits out a capsule stored within in exchange for coins. Occasionally it’s used for raffles. I don’t know what it’s doing here, but it sure is nostalgic.”

“I don’t quite get it, but it’s a machine aimed at children, right? Then it has no relation to the creation of the Crimson Demons.”

Just as I was lost in my memories, Aqua, who was fiddling with the machine, seemed to have found something.

“Crimson Demon modification rights available for a limited time only, it says.”

“Oh, it really is. First place, prototype Playscation, second place, Game Girl Color, third place, Crimson Demon Modification rights- Hey, what are you doing?”

Megumin wordlessly scraped away the words.

“You two didn’t see anything, okay?”

“It isn’t okay at all, but I get it. Just buy me some wine later.”

“Don’t just erase the history of the Crimson Demons…”

Source @CGtranslations.me

— We explored the facility for quite some time afterwards, but we still didn’t manage to find anything related to the Bomber Majin.

“The only thing we learned is that Megumin’s ancestors came out from a gacha…”

“Wait, putting it like that will invite misunderstandings. At least say that the modification rights came from the gacha.”

Megumin, riding on my back, lazily said.

In the end, we didn’t get much out of the facility.

After settling Megumin’s routine on our way back, we safely arrived at Megumin’s house.

“I’m back~ Komekko, let’s have dinner. Has mother returned yet?”

“Welcome back, Nee-chan. Mom’s gone into a dungeon, so she won’t be back today. The golden onee-chan is back, though.”

Golden onee-chan is referring to Darkness, huh.

I wonder if Yunyun managed to successfully complete her trial.

“Komekko, have you heard anything about Yunyun’s trial?”

“Yunyun said she passed the trial! But she was crying!”

… She was crying?

I wondered what happened as I entered the house.

Darkness was hugging her knees in the middle of the living room.

“Yo, Darkness, I’m back. What happened with Yunyun’s trial? I’ve heard that she succeeded from Komekko, but…”

“…No more Crimson Demon Trials… You can be her partner tomorrow…”

Darkness, who was so confident this morning, tiredly mumbled with tears in her eyes.